1. LeBron, Wade Stand Out In Pivotal Game 3s
By Brian WindhorstESPN.com
DALLAS -- History and reality tell us Sunday's Game 3 of these NBA Finals probably is going to end up being vital.
That's a challenging situation for the Heat, who haven't won in Dallas since the last Finals game they played here in 2006. They are also now considered the underdogs after losing momentum by blowing a 15-point lead in Game 2.
But they also have something quite valuable on their side: Two players who have been dominant in these moments during their careers. Both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have remarkable track records in Game 3s of series that are tied 1-1.
Wade is playing in his 16th career playoff series and is tied at 1-1 for the sixth time. In those other instances, Wade has regularly delivered huge performances in those crucial Game 3s. In fact, the Heat are 5-0 with Wade in Game 3s in a tied series, including 1-0 this season when the Heat took command of the Eastern Conference finals with a Game 3 win over Chicago. Wade's averaged 29.4 points on 52 percent shooting in those situations.
James is playing in his 17th career playoff series and is tied at 1-1 for the fifth time. In those other instances, James has delivered huge performances in those crucial Game 3s. The Cleveland Cavaliers were 3-1 in those Game 3s. James averaged 35.5 points on 47 percent shooting in those situations.
"Obviously, we understand this is a very big game," Wade said Saturday. "We've been looking forward to it since after Game 2."
Even the most basic basketball statistics can be passed off as circumstantial. But there's one looming over this series like a summer Texas thunderstorm with regard to Game 3.
Since 1985, when the championship series went to a 2-3-2 format, ESPN Statistics and Information tells us that there's been 11 times a series has been tied 1-1 as the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks are. The winner of Game 3 has won the series all 11 times.
In a word: Whoa.
"That's not even a big enough sample," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the number Saturday, clearly trying to take the onus off what unfolds Sunday night.
But actually it's a huge sample, 11 instances in the last 25 Finals. Regardless, there's no arguing the point that Sunday night is pivotal. Even before this stat was raised, the Heat understood the stakes. A loss doesn't end the series but it puts the losers in a hole that many teams before them haven't been able to get out of.
"It's a sense of urgency," James said. "That's the only was we know how to play, when we feel like we're desperate. It's the only way to approach [these] games."
Wade's signature Game 3 was probably in the 2006 conference finals, setting the stage for the Heat's upset of the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Wade made 13 of 17 shots and scored 35 points as the Heat took control of that series.
James' best was against the Boston Celtics last season when he scored 38 points on 14-of-22 shooting to break a 1-1 series tie in Boston. The Cavs went on to lose the series but only after they lost a second home game. The Finals format, which has the next three games in Dallas, changes that margin for error. In the one pivotal Game 3 that James lost in his career, in the conference finals to the Orlando Magic in 2009, he delivered with 41 points and nine assists.
Those huge numbers aren't likely for Wade or James against the Mavs, their roles have changed playing with each other and their numbers have, too. When the Heat beat the Bulls in Game 3 just a few weeks ago, James had just 22 points but had one of his best all-around games of the postseason with 10 assists as he was able to repeatedly set up Chris Bosh, who had 34 points. Wade had just 17 points in that game but playing together the Heat were able to win it.
No matter the stats, Wade and James will arrive at American Airlines Center drawing on a strong personal history of coming through in these moments.
"We have a great opportunity [Sunday] night and our guys understand that," Spoelstra said.
Of course, the Mavericks don't exactly have slouches. They were in the same situation in the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, coming home for Game 3 tied 1-1. Knowing the gravity of that game, Dirk Nowitzki delivered a 40-point performance to add to his personally impressive playoff r�sum�.
Last season, when the Mavs' series with the San Antonio Spurs was tied 1-1, Nowitzki had 35 points in a loss. The rest of career in these spots is a little scattered. He had 20 points in a Game 3 win to break a 1-1 tie with the Spurs in 2009. In 2007, he shot poorly in a Game 3 loss to the Golden State Warriors when the Mavs lost control of that series.
He's aware that with Wade and James, there's going to be another extreme challenge with the crucial game at hand.
"I think we can't let up, we're not good enough to just relax," Nowitzki said. "We need to play with an edge."
NBA Writer Brian Windhorst
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Dimes past: May 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | June 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
2. Bosh Looking To Regain Touch
Heat Index
Before the Heat's first practice in Dallas on Saturday, Bosh stood before the media and assured everyone that he will bounce back in Game 3 after shooting 26 percent in the first two games of the series.
How does he know that? In his mind, he has been here before. No, not in the Finals, but mentally, this is familiar territory. In late February against the Chicago Bulls, the Heat power forward endured one of the worst shooting nights in NBA history, missing 17 of his 18 shots from the floor. Those memories came rushing back after another off shooting night in Game 2.
"This is the Finals and I have to really use what I've learned in crucial situations," Bosh said Saturday. "I just have to trust in myself. I know I can play the game."
• To read the full story, click here »
3. The Marion Kind Of Success
ESPN Dallas
DALLAS -- As Shawn Marion piled up more points and rebounds in April than during any other stretch in his two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki so marveled at him that he came up with a go-to line for the veritable elastic man long ago dubbed "The Matrix."
"He's turned back the clock on us," Nowitzki said more than once.
It's an interesting choice of words for the soon-to-be-33-year-old Nowitzki to use on the just-turned-33 Marion, who has one less season of NBA tread on his sneakers.
Nowitzki meant it as a compliment, but the interpretation was clear: This version of the Matrix is not the ridiculously malleable and multi-dimensional one that Nowitzki twice faced running-and-gunning in the playoffs with the Phoenix Suns.
• To read the full story, click here »
4. Comebacks Name Of Mavs' Game
ESPN Dallas
It seemed ridiculous at the time, as the Mavs sat in the visitors' locker room at the Rose Garden and stewed over another maddening playoff meltdown. A 23-point lead went poof in Portland that night, which certainly seemed to be concrete proof that these were the same ol' Mavs, not championship contenders.
Heck, the rally led by Brandon Roy marked only the second time in a decade that a team had come back to win a playoff game after trailing by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Fast forward a few rounds. That list of late, long-shot postseason comebacks over the past 10 years has doubled. And Dallas was on the right side of both of those rallies, roaring back from 15 down on the road to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat in a four-game span.
"We don't want to get in these situations," said Terry, whose eight-point flurry sparked the Mavs' game-ending, Finals-tying 22-5 run in Thursday night's Game 2. "But if this situation does present itself, we're a veteran team. And we pride ourselves on being calm, being even-keeled.
"If there's time on that clock, there's still time for us."
• To read the full story, click here »
5. Like A Shadow
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images7. Ranking Playoff MVPs
Scouts Inc.
Though the court dimensions are the same, the Finals are played on a stage far greater than any of the previous postseason games. That spotlight and media crush, combined with the strength of the opponent and the proximity to a championship, force athletes into playing with a focus and passion that is unique to the Finals. Some melt under the pressure, while others manage to play in the same manner they are accustomed to.
But a few, the special few, rise above and find a level of play that they only dreamed they could reach. Perhaps they'll do that for an entire series but more typically it's in a game or two, or even just a quarter or a half -- enough to make the difference between winning and losing. And though we have stars making amazing plays, the best three players in this series have to bring more to the game to ensure victory.
Down to two teams playing to make history, who's been the biggest difference-maker since we started this "tournament" in mid-April?
• To read the full story, click here »
8. Party JET Time?
ESPN Dallas
DALLAS -- The premature celebration inquiries aren't going away for the Miami Heat, who were perceived to be doing something excessive to be showing up the Dallas Mavericks after going up by 15 points with seven minutes still to play in Game 2.
Dwyane Wade hit a corner 3-point shot and kept his right arm extended and his flicked wrist frozen as he slowly paraded by the Mavs' bench. Then LeBron James playfully jabbed Wade in the chest and bobbed his head as the two made their way to the bench following a Dallas timeout.
"That's part of the game. We're an emotional team," James said Saturday at American Airlines Center. "When we make plays, we can congratulate one another. I don't see why this whole thing has been blown out of proportion."
James suggested watching Mavs shooting guard Jason Terry if the discussion revolves around in-game celebrations.
"I've seen Dallas go on plenty of runs before. You know, if J.T. hits a 3 and they make a big run, if he runs down the court doing the whole wings expanded, do we count that as a celebration as well?" James said. "I just think everything gets blown out of proportion when the Miami Heat does things."
• To see ESPN Dallas' Mavs blog, click here »
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